SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Good Advice
(2). Job's comforters (2:11-13):
• Eliphaz will speak from a viewpoint of his experience.
• Bildad will speak from the viewpoint of tradition
• Zophar will speak from the viewpoint of his own assumptions
• Elihu will speak from the viewpoint of an angry heart
(3). Job and Me! - How to Succeed as a friend:
• Be there for them.
• Cry with them
• Listen to them
• Minister to them
• Pray with them
SERMON BODY
Quote: Mark Twain.
“The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.”
• We might smile at that statement,
• But all of us need human friendship and without it, life is lonely!
Ill:
• A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend.
• Among the thousands of answers received were the following:
• "One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is invaluable."
• "One who understands our silence."
• "A watch that beats true for all time and never runs down."
• The winning definition read:
• "A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out."
• Quote: A small boy defined a friend as
• "Someone who knows all about you and likes you just the same."
• Quote: C.S. Lewis.
• “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another,
• "What! You, too? I thought I was the only one."”
• Quote: Marlene Dietrick
• “It’s the friends you can call up at 4am that matter.”
(1). Good adVICE:
Ill:
Now to help you build friendships, here are 5 Tips from Dale Carnegie.
• Become genuinely interested in other people.
• People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
• Smile.
• If you want to draw others to you, light up your face with a smile.
• Remember names.
• A person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound to that person.
• Be a good listener.
• Encourage others to talk about themselves.
• Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
• Treat others the way they want to be treated.
(2). Job’s Comforters
• Last week we briefly touched on the fact that Job’s friends turn up.
• They go by the well-known name, ‘Job’s Comforters.’
• They first turn up in chapter 2 verse 11:
When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathise with him and comfort him.
Note:
• In these verses, I see five quick insights from Job’s friends did;
• That you and I can take on board to help a hurting friend:
FIRST: THEY CAME.
• Job’s friends travelled to be with him.
• They could have stayed home and prayed for their friend.
• They could have sent him flowers and a card (nothing wrong with that),
• But these friends did more.
• They sacrificed for their friend.
• They must have left their jobs and families behind;
• And spent their own money to travel from their homeland to be with Job.
• Lesson #1: Sacrifice for your friends in time of need.
SECOND: THEY WORKED TOGETHER.
• The Bible says they “made an appointment together to come and mourn.”
• (Job chapter 2 verse 11).
• In short, they reached arranged together how they might collectively help Job.
• One of them started the ball rolling, and got the others involved.
• And they all decided the best course of action would be to show up together as one group.
• Lesson #2: Share the news and get others involved if possible.
• But be sensitive to how many people come together at once to help the hurting person.
THIRD: THEY SHOWED APPROPRIATE EMOTION.
• The Bible tells us that when they saw Job, they couldn’t recognize him.
• “They lifted up their voices and wept” for their friend.
• (Job chapter 2 verse 11).
• Here we see Job’s friends seeing the situation for what it was.
• They deeply grieved for Job. And they expressed the right emotion in the right way.
• They didn’t try and pretend everything was ok or would be ok,
• Lesson #3: Express emotion that is equal to the circumstances.
FOURTH: THEY STAYED WITH JOB.
• This was not a short hospital visit where they said, “Hello, how are you doing?”
• Then the ate Job’s grapes and disappeared, never to return.
• We read that Job’s friends stayed with him.
• They sat down on the ground and were with him for at least seven days and nights.
• Lesson #4: Friends in pain may need you for more than one day.
FIFTH: THEY DIDN’T SPEAK.
• Perhaps the oddest part of this whole story,
• Is that Job’s friends don’t speak…at all…for seven days.
• That is unusual in any culture!
• Our first inclination is to say something to make the situation better.
• They recognized Job was not ready to communicate in any way.
• So, they just sat there with him and expressed their sympathy through silence.
• Lesson #5: Sometimes you don’t have to say anything. Being there is enough.
• TANSITION: These three friends started well,
• They came to; “sympathise with him and comfort him.”
• But their good intentions soon turned bad and their visit would hinder not help Job!
• And after seven days of silence;
• They are about to undo all their good work with words, words and more words!
Remember not all advice is good!
Ill:
• You may have heard or used the expression, ‘Taken with a Grain of Salt’
• It’s a warning people have understood for centuries.
• Some advice needs to be taken “with a grain of salt.”
• Question: Ever wondered what was meant by that?
• Answer:
• In ancient times, salt was hard to come by,
• It was expensive, and even considered as a form of medicine.
• In Latin, folks warned that some counsel needed “cum grano salis.”
• In other words, some advice might not be the healthiest around.
• In that light, you’ll want to keep the medicine on hand, just in case.
TRANSITION: Job will get some advice from his three friends:
• But he will need more that a grain of salt!
• There words are like poison for they are misplaced and wrong.
• His three friends, whose names are Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar,
• Begin a lengthy discussion with Job that goes on for 29 chapters!
• You will be pleased to know we are not reading all of it!
• In these chapters there is a cycle of speeches.
• Each of the friends speaks in turn, and after each of their speeches Job responds.
• This happens three times over, except that in the last cycle,
• Zophar no longer speaks, but is replaced by another man, Elihu.
Quote: H.L. Mencken wrote:
“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.”
• TRANSITION: Job’s friends are wrong;
• Because their advice comes from a false understanding of how God works.
• They make a false assumption about God,
• Therefore, their wisdom and advice is flawed.
• The false assumption is this:
• That the righteous are always rewarded and the unrighteous are always punished.
• That is bad theology! And it messes up all their speeches.
• These friends thought they were helping Job with their words,
• But they were so, so wrong!
• Because their words only helped to deepen Job’s pain.
• In fact;
• After he starts listening to their advice,
• He calls them "miserable comforters" (chapter 16 verse 3),
Note: Each of these friends/comforters speak to Job from a certain viewpoint:
• FIRST: Eliphaz will speak from a viewpoint of his EXPERIENCE.
• SECOND: Bildad will speak from the viewpoint of TRADITION.
• THIRD: Zophar will speak from the viewpoint of his OWN ASSUMPTIONS.
• (What he feels is right, even if he has no proof for his arguments.)
• So, let’s look at the text;
• And you will see those three viewpoints woven in this passage.
FIRST: Eliphaz the Temanite will speak from a viewpoint of his experience.
• Eliphaz is probably the oldest of Job’s friends,
• And he appeals to his experience as an older man.
• We would say today; “He’s been there, seen it, done it and bought the T-shirt”
• So, he will draw on life-experience to counsel Job.
• He will share with Job from what he has seen, watched, viewed and scrutinised,
• And so, his advice to Job comes from the university of life,
• This is what life has taught him.
• e.g. Chapter 4 verse 8:
• “As I have OBSERVED, those who plough evil and those who sow trouble reap it.”
• e.g. Chapter 5 verse 3:
• “I myself have SEEN a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
• e.g. Chapter 15 verse 17:
• “‘Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have SEEN,’”
ELIPHAZ MAKES THREE SPEECHES IN THE BOOK OF JOB:
• His first speech is found in chapters 4&5,
• In these verses, Eliphaz argues that only the innocent prosper.
• And as Job was obviously not prospering,
• His conclusion therefore is that Job must have done something very, very wrong.
• Eliphaz makes his second speech, in chapter 15,
• In these verses, Eliphaz argues that Job does not fear God.
• His conclusion, if Job did fear God, he would not face such suffering.
• Eliphaz makes his third speech, in chapter 22.
• This time, he accuses Job of great wrongdoing (verse 5):
• “Is not your wickedness great? / Are not your sins endless?”
SECOND: Bildad will speak from the viewpoint of tradition.
• e.g. Chapter 8 verse 8:
• “‘Ask the former generations and find out what their ancestors learned,’”
Ill:
• In 1903 the Russian Czar Tsar Nicholas II,
• Noticed a sentry posted for no apparent reason on the Kremlin grounds.
• When he made some inquiries,
• He discovered that in 1776 Catherine the Great found there the first flower of spring.
• She commanded,
• "Post a sentry here, so that no one tramples that flower under foot!"
• For 127 years;
• A guard had been posted by a piece of ground that no longer grew anything,
• Some traditions die hard.
Ill:
According to Webster’s dictionary, tradition is
"the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction."
• We all have traditions, don't we?
• e.g. when should Christmas presents be opened; Christmas Eve or Christmas day?
• TRANSITION: Bildad will speak from the viewpoint of tradition.
• This is how we understood things in the past, so they must be right!
• His first speech is found in chapter 8,
• In these verses, Bildad Bildad’s perspective is that Job should repent of his wrong.
• If Job repents, according to Bildad, all the material things he had lost will be restored
• (chapter 8 verses 5-6).
• Bildad makes his second speech, in chapter 18,
• In these verses, he focuses on the theme that God punishes the wicked.
• His logic is that, since Job is being punished, he must have done something wrong.
• Bildad makes his third speech, in chapter 25,
• In these verses, he focuses on the idea that a person cannot be righteous before God.
• In verse 4 he says,
“How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?”
THIRD: Zophar will speak from the viewpoint of his own assumptions.
• Zophar will give his opinion, what feels right to him,
• He is not concerned that he has nothing to prove his argument.
Ill:
• A radio presenter who had a phone in talk show,
• He loved a good argument and enjoyed winding people up the wrong way.
• When callers would say to him, "That’s just your opinion"
• He always responds; "That’s true, but it is the only one I am qualified to give".
Ill:
• United States film maker Samuel Goldwyn (1882-1974) used to say;
• “If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you.”
• TRANSITION: Well, Zophar is about to give Job his opinion,
• Whether he wants it or not.
• Zophar will speak from the viewpoint of his own opinions.
• His is the most forthright of the speeches given.
• His first speech is found in chapter 11,
• Amazingly, Zophar tells Job he deserves even worse than what he got (vs 6b),
• “Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.”
• His second speech is found in chapter 20,
• He focuses on the theme that the one who commits wickedness will suffer for it.
• Just listen to his words (vs 28-29)
“A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters[b] on the day of God’s wrath.
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.’”
• Well, with encouraging advice like that,
• It is a good job that Zophar only gives two speeches.
Fourth: Elihu will speak from the viewpoint of an angry heart .
• A fourth man, Elihu, also makes an appearance in the book of Job.
• (Chapter 32).
• Elihu has two concerns, both of which he expresses in verses 2-3.
“But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.
ill:
• In one Peanuts cartoon Lucy says to Charlie Brown,
• “I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!”
• Charlie says to Lucy, “But I thought you had inner peace.”
• Lucy replies, “I do have inner peace. But I still have outer obnoxiousness.”
• TRANSITION: Elihu the Buzite was angry.
• He was angry at both Job and Job’s three friends
• (Verses 2-3).
“But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.
Poor old Job:
• With friends like these who needs enemies!
• The expression, “Stoking the fire” comes to mind.
• As pour old Job is made to feel even worse by the visit of these four men.
Ill:
• William Blake as an English poet, painter, and printmaker. (1757–1827).
• He produced a famous engraving of Job’s three friends,
• The engraved Illustrations are considered to be Blake's greatest masterpieces;
• In the medium of engraving
• In the engravings Job’s three friends are all seen pointing their fingers at him.
• They are saying, “You are guilty, Job. That’s why you’re suffering!”
• With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Note:
• Later on, in chapter 42 (vs 7) Job is vindicated,
• God does intervene and speak on Job’s behalf and rebukes Job’s friends, saying,
“…he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”
• Bildad’s and his friends’ speeches:
• Are an example of how people often view suffering from a human perspective,
• And assume that suffering is always the result of doing something wrong.
• In the end, these friends had to discover;
• That God had allowed Job to suffer as part of His divine plan,
• And that Job was not to blame for his trials.
(3). Job and Me! - How to Succeed as a friend:
• Earlier on in this sermon, I gave you 5 lessons from Job’s friends:
• Let me finish by giving you 5 ways to help a hurting friend.
FIRST: BE THERE FOR THEM.
• The best thing you can do for a friend during their time of suffering.
• Is to be with them. You don’t have to talk to them, just be there.
• Sometimes the best thing you can to for hurting friend is to show up and hug them.
Ill:
• In his book, Postmodern Pilgrims,
• Len Sweet shares this true story.
• “Today I visited an eight-year-old girl dying of cancer.
• She was in almost constant pain.
• As I entered her room, I was overcome immediately by her suffering;
• So unjust, unfair, unreasonable.
• Even more overpowering was the presence of her grandmother lying in bed beside her,
• With her huge body embracing this precious, inhuman suffering.
• I stood in awe, for I knew I was on holy ground.
• I will never forget the great, gentle arms and body of this grandmother.
• She never spoke while I was there.
• She was holding and participating in suffering that she could not relieve,
• And somehow her silent presence was relieving it.
• No words could express the magnitude of her love.”
• TRANSITION:
• The best thing you can do for a friend during their time of suffering.
• Is to be with them. You don’t have to talk to them, just be there.
SECOND: CRY WITH THEM.
• The best thing Job’s friends did;
• Was to sit in the ashes with him and to weep along with Job.
• The Bible says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”
• (Romans chapter 12 verse 15)
Ill:
• In John chapter 11:
• Jesus stood with his friends Mary & Martha at the grave of Lazarus,
• And we are told, “Jesus wept” (vs 35) – the shortest verse in the English Bible.
• TRANSITION:
• Tears communicate your compassion much more eloquently than words ever can.
• Don’t tell a hurting friend to stop crying.
• Instead, cry with them.
THIRD: LISTEN TO THEM.
• In James chapter 1 verse 19 the Bible says we should be;
• “Slow to speak and quick to listen.”
• Quote: As the old saying goes:
• “That’s why God gave you two ears and only one mouth.”
• He wants to listen at least twice as much as we talk.
Ill:
• Some people claim a dog is man’s best friend.
• Maybe that’s because you can talk to a dog and they won’t talk a back!
Quote:
“Someone said you can keep silent and people will only suspect you’re a fool, or you can speak and remove all doubt!”
• TRANSITION:
• Every hurting person needs a friend who will listen to him or her.
• So, let’s be: “Slow to speak and quick to listen.”
FOURTH: MINISTER TO THEM.
• Christians are good at this:
• It’s great that people in the fellowship often pop round with a food,
• Or a meal that the sick person or the bereaved family can heat up later on that day.
Ill:
• A teacher in a junior school asked her children to bring into class,
• A symbols from their religions.
• A Jewish boy showed the students a Star of David.
• The Catholic boy showed them a crucifix.
• The Buddhist boy bought in The Wheel of Dharma,
• The little evangelical boy showed them a casserole dish!
• TRANSITION:
• It’s great that people in the Church often pop round with a food,
• When someone is in need.
FIFTH: PRAY WITH THEM.
• It’s always appropriate to pray with someone.
• Don’t preach a sermon in your prayers.
• Don’t pray an explanation of why we suffer in your prayers – just pray.
Ill:
• Ephesians chapter 6 verse 8:
• “…be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ill:
• In an article written by Linda Mae Richardson entitled,
• “When I was Diagnosed with Cancer.”
• She wrote about how seven different friends related to her;
• After she was diagnosed with cancer, and how she felt after they left.
• Friend #1 said, “I can’t believe you have cancer.
• I always thought you were so active and healthy.”
• When she left Linda wrote, “I felt alienated and somehow very ‘different.’”
• As she talked about different treatment options,
• Friend #2 said,
• “Whatever you do, don’t take chemotherapy. It’s a poison!”
• When she left Linda wrote, “I felt scared and confused.”
• Friend #3 said,
• “Perhaps God is disciplining you for some sin in your life.”
• When she left Linda wrote, “I felt guilty.”
• Friend #4 said,
• “All things work together for good.”
• When she left Linda wrote, “I felt angry.”
• Friend #5 said,
• “If your faith is great enough, God will heal you.”
• Linda wrote, “I felt my faith must be inadequate.”
• Friend #6 never came to visit her at all.
• Linda wrote, “I felt sad and alone.”
• Friend #7 said,
• “I’m here. I care. I’m here to help you through this. Let me pray for you.”
• Linda said, “When she left, I felt loved!”
• FINAL THOUGHT:
• May we all be like Friend #7!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=IeLIRwBCDNpmXu9a1043004U2pBUod6N
